1. The Curiosity Theory
One idea is that Amazon is intentionally advertising vague and silly products to spark our human curiosity. ‘What the hell is that thing?’ we ask, clicking through to Amazon.com to find out the answer. Or ‘Can you believe Amazon advertised this ridiculous product to me?’ we say, while writing an article full of references to the brand. Perhaps Amazon’s ads are intentionally obtuse in the hopes of sparking incredulous clicks and ironic Retweets – oh, and we might as well pick up some batteries or a book while we find ourselves on Amazon.
2. The Liquidation Theory
This might be the most boring theory, but it’s possible. Perhaps Amazon finds itself with a few odds and ends left in the warehouse from a seller who has discontinued a product or closed up shop. People aren’t proactively searching for these products, nor are the items worthy of wasting prime real estate on Amazon.com to advertise and suggest. So what does Amazon do? They find the cheapest sort of advertising inventory, buy it in bulk from a platform like Twitter, and advertise the product until some strange soul who thinks they may have a refrigerant leak stumbles across the perfect product and snaps up the last one in stock. Problem solved, and warehouse square footage cleared.
3. The Ad Cost Theory
One marketing expert I spoke with posited that Amazon may be running a sort of scheme to pull the wool over Twitter’s eyes. 'I think they’re secretly CPM awareness ads sold on a CPC buying model,’ he says. The theory goes like this: Amazon convinces a platform it’s buying display advertising with the goal of driving people to its site, negotiating rates that are based on how many people click the ad. Then – twist! – it creates the least compelling, most random ads it can, ensuring that as few people as possible will click on the ads. The ad’s price stays low, and Amazon secures a constant presence in your consciousness for pennies on the dollar.
4. The Throwing You Off The Scent Theory
After Target was famously accused of hyper-targeting its advertising newsletters to people based on past purchases, it adopted a new tactic. But it didn’t remove the targeted ads from its circulars – after all, they were more likely to lead directly to purchase. Instead, it intentionally included advertisements it knew the reader would interpret as irrelevant: a kid’s toy to a senior citizen, a hair curler to a bald man. Perhaps Amazon is pulling a similar trick with these ads, hoping consumers will think more kindly of a retail giant advertising irrelevant tchotchkes than they would of a Big Brother advertising the dish soap they just ran out of.
5. The Algorithm Training Theory
Perhaps the most paranoid theory: Amazon is using Twitter as a further-from-purchase-point research method to fine-tune its recommendations algorithms (to sell you things later on Amazon). It’s pretty sure you’re just interested in dystopian fiction...but maybe you’re also a doomsday prepper? Rather than ask you directly by surfacing related products on Amazon.com after you buy the Hunger Games books, it casually floats the idea by you with a bucket of powdered milk on Twitter.
